


Eren vs. Reiner

by moricat



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Boyfriends, Competition, Jealousy, M/M, Teen Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-24
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-09-19 16:12:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9449660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moricat/pseuds/moricat
Summary: When Armin gets tired of waiting around for Eren to love him back, he starts dating Reiner, and a jealous Eren begins competing with Reiner for Armin's affections. Fun sitcommy teen antics ensue lolThis is 100% an eremin fic, so don't think of it as a Raina/Aru story. Just a heads up ;3





	1. Morning Sunshine

**Author's Note:**

> This is just for fun for me so, apologies in advance if updates are slow. I have the plot and story all planned out and everything but since this is just for fun I may not update it regularly. 
> 
> And like I said in the summary, this is an eremin story, not a rainaaru one... ;3

Breakfast call forced everybody out of bed at no less than 6 in the morning. It was grueling for everyone, minus Reiner who would always be awake at 5 in the morning to do some warm up jogging. Eren admired it until whenever 6am rolled around, at which point he deemed Reiner rather crazy. The trainees groaned out of their beds to brush their teeth and get all of their other ablutions out of the way before clammering into the mess hall for breakfast. 

Breakfast time was a very cozy experience since it featured fresh baked bread, the smell of which wafted over the camp grounds & flooded the mess hall, and poached eggs in chicken broth, something somewhat more flavorful than just the usual cabbage water they were served for dinner. 

Eren wasn’t much of a morning person. He grumbled the entire time until he had something in his stomach to relax him, something Armin was well aware of and so simply took extra patience with him until breakfast time. Eren appreciated that but soon he’d appreciate it even more… Today was a busy one. Monday’s always were, to whip the teens back into focus after their weekends, but today was going to give Eren and Armin a particularly full plate of events soon enough…

“--NOM!” Eren growled as he ravenously downed his bread rations. “Man, I was starving, I’ll be glad when we take out those vermin and get our lands back.”

Armin chewed politely across from Eren and Mikasa. “I would love to have some rabbit stew again… It’s amazing how we used to take meat for granted. And even then it wasn’t exactly a god-given right…”

Mikasa nodded. “Mm.”

Eren chased his bread down with some soup and an audible gulp, already feeling less cranky and more relaxed, partly from the food and from hearing Armin’s pleasant voice. “You know what’s the best though? Beef. Pure. Fresh. Beef.” 

Armin chuckled. “Why’s that? Poultry has much more flavor, to me.”

“Because it’s _beef!_ It’s the flavor of strength and power! That probably sounds stupid but that’s what I feel.”

“Eren. It’s not stupid. That _is_ how it tastes.” Mikasa insisted, eager to validate her liege with an affectionate shoulder grab, which Eren immediately rebuffed with an annoyed shrug. 

Armin, however, disagreed with their notion. “Mmm, cows are big but… I wouldn’t call them the flavor of strength and power. Cows don’t move much. They go where they’re told and chew on their own cud all day. It’s a great flavor though… Th-the meat, that is.”

Eren listened intently. “Eh? What meat do you think is the flavor of strength and power then?”

Armin blushed slightly, knowing his answer would be embarrassing, but never felt uncomfortable telling Eren what was on his mind. “Rabbit.”

“Rabbit?”

Mikasa’s eyes widened. 

“Yeah. Rabbits are meek prey. They struggle to survive with every predator out there dying to eat them, and yet, to eat a fully grown adult rabbit means that rabbit not only found the strength to survive and live its life, but it also had a courage to come out of its burrow to explore for its rightful food that day before some human came and shot it. That’s real courage. I think that takes a lot of power. I always feel a sense of honor eating rabbit stew…” Armin smiled, reminiscing on his grandfather’s special hasenpfeffer recipe he always used to make on weekends before the walls fell… He looked back up into Eren’s eyes. 

_‘What a romantic.’_ Eren thought. “This is why I say you’re the smart one, Armin. I would’ve never thought of that but you’re absolutely right!” 

Mikasa blushed with embarrassment since she never would’ve thought of that either. One more reason to envy Armin like she did somewhere deep down in the pit of her stomach for being able to put the light in Eren’s eyes like only he could. "Yeah..."

Reiner finished his tray rather quickly from the next table over and stood up tall to stretch his muscles. “ _AH!_ Nothing like a good trainee corps breakfast, eh, Bertholdt?”

“Eh.” Bertholdt muttered unenthusiastically from his seat. 

“Welp, time to go walk this off outside. Don’t wanna get cramps during our warm ups. Not that it could slow me down, of course.” He chuckled, his big barrel chest bouncing visibly as he did so. “See ya, Bert.”

“Mmh.” 

And with a graceful heel-toe spin, Reiner took himself outside for his morning walk, enjoying the sunshine and remnants of a foggy morning, leaving Bertholdt behind to pointlessly stare at Annie until he finished his breakfast. 

Eren often caught himself staring at Reiner’s body, finding him an intriguing specimen, but quickly resumed focus on whatever he was doing. In this case, eating breakfast, which was already much more interesting. 

“A morning walk sure sounds nice…” Armin sighed wistfully. 

Somehow, that got Eren’s attention... “What do you mean?” 

“It just sounds nice. A chance to clear your head with a quiet walk outside to wake up.” 

Eren felt weirdly uneasy. “But you’re not a morning person.”

“Haha, I know. That’s why I go for my walks in the woods in the evenings.”

“Ah, I see…” Eren replied, dipping his bread in his soup. 

“Would you like some more?” Mikasa offered, sliding her tray towards Eren. “Yours didn’t look like it had much egg in it.”

Eren annoyedly pushed the tray back to her. “It had plenty! YOU need to eat.”

“Mine had extra. Don’t worry about me.” 

Eren growled gently, wishing Mikasa would just worry about herself instead of him, while Armin watched on with a thought…

“Eren, let’s go for a walk when you’re done.”

Eren forced a blush back from his cheeks. “W-what?!”

“Let’s go for a walk when you’re done! I think it’ll help wake us up and clear your head. You could use some extra sunshine.” He beamed. 

Eren swallowed with a loud gulp even though the bread bite he was chewing was very small… “Ah… no.”

Armin seemed visibly hurt. “Why not?”

Eren struggled to find an excuse beyond his fear of being alone with Armin for too long lest his feelings, whatever they were, end up spilling out of him. “Because… I don’t care for sunshine.”

“You don’t care for sunshine?” 

“No.” 

“Is that so?” 

“Yes.”

“…I see. Well, then. I guess there’s no helping it. I’ll see you around, Eren.” Armin concluded with a certain slight annoyance, and carried his empty tray back to the front of the mess hall before going outside by himself to think. 

Eren cursed himself. That walk actually sounded really nice to him. Especially to get some extra sunshine. At least with Armin it did… He grew sad, wishing he didn't regret his choice. 

Mikasa sat awkwardly, trying to calculate in her head what she should do for Eren now that Armin was gone and she had a real chance at winning his better favor. “…Eren. Do you need some more bread?”

_“Would you knock it off?!!”_

\--


	2. Armin's Proposition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armin approaches Reiner during lunch period to make a grand suggestion...

Armin spent all of his morning training routines thinking things over in regards to Eren. Being in love with your best friend is the greatest feeling ever… if your best friend loves you back, that is. And while something in the way Eren would smile at Armin hinted that somewhere deep down he felt the same way, Eren himself wasn’t giving Armin any reason of romance in return. And Armin was getting tired of waiting around for nothing… Eren couldn’t even walk with him out in the sunshine for a moment? Yeah... There was no point in sitting around with his heart going to waste... So Armin made the reluctant and sad decision to move on... The only question now was how in the world he would get over _Eren Yeager_ …

After breakfast came the warm ups and condition drills. They’d lucked out that morning since there were no emergency drills forcing them out of bed to gear up and slay dummy titans at 4am, so, while busy as usual, everyone was pretty relaxed. Especially Reiner, with his ever optimistic confidence in himself and his powerhouse of a body to back it up. He always treated morning warm ups and conditioning like it were child’s play. Armin paid mind to it that day more than usual... Watching Reiner do his jumping jacks, push ups, sit ups and laps made Armin feel inspired enough to push through his own in spite of what an endless struggle it always was. Normally, Eren was his muse for that, but a fresh image of endurance and powerful physical strength was putting an intrigued smile on Armin’s face. But more than anything, Armin found himself appreciating Reiner’s sweetness… Nobody was sweeter than Eren, (when Eren was being honest and attentive), but Reiner was so openly sweet to _everyone_ , no matter how weak or how awkward they were. It was refreshing. He was always kind, generous, helpful and supportive to anyone who crossed his path. He was like everyone’s big brother. Understandably, everyone loved him for it.

Right before lunch was a period of close combat training, however... Armin partnered up with Christa, the only person as weak as he was, and found himself easily floored by her as usual. Of course that didn’t bother him much when Christa was so angelically kind over it. Towards the end of that period, Reiner bravely approached the pair, receiving a glare from Ymir akin to that of an angry watch dog as she stood watching from the side while evading the instructor. Reiner puffed out his chest, clearly working hard to maintain his confidence here, and offered Christa a pretty necklace he’d gotten in town that weekend to ask her out on a date... Christa smiled in her usual way and gently rejected him... for the 5th time in a row… Ymir stood in a cocky stance beside her and laughed at Reiner’s pouty rejection, only to be shushed by her companion. Armin looked on as Reiner sighed. He sure felt like he could relate to that lovelorn feeling… and soon began to hatch an idea…

Reiner skipped lunch on days when Christa would turn him down and disappeared to work out in the trainee corps gym. Working out was his way of “cleansing” after a rejection and so he was already sweating as he lied down on the bench, rhythmically raising a large barbell over his head. Bertholdt ate his lunch quietly beside him, thinking about Annie while counting his friend’s barbell presses to the sound of Reiner’s busy grunting. Armin decided to skip lunch as well and had taken himself straight to the gym...

“Reiner? Can I talk to you about something?” Armin asked as he strolled right on in.

Reiner slowed down his work out to listen but continued on his routine. “Sure, Armin! What’s on your mind?”

Armin took a casual seat on the bench beside Reiner, inciting little interest from Bertholdt across the way on Reiner's other side. He pursed his lips thoughtfully as he glanced around the room before choosing his words. “I’ve come to make a proposition with you.”

“A proposition? What kind?” Reiner asked, pressing the barbell up again.

“20.” mumbled Bertholdt, counting every five presses for Reiner’s work out for him as he usually did.

“Well,” Armin continued. “I saw that Christa rejected you again today. And she just really seems pretty uninterested in you, I’m afraid…”

“Ah, yeah… But please don’t pity me, I can take it.” He shrugged.

“No, no, I’m sure you can!” Armin promised, looking in Reiner’s eyes. “I didn’t come to pity you. Like I said, I came with a proposition.”

“Oh. Go on then.” He smiled, completing yet another press of the barbell.

“…You see, I’m rather on the rebound too… Someone I love doesn’t seem to wanna be with me either. And I’m rather tired of waiting around for him to return my affections… I’d like to move on… Wouldn’t you?”

Reiner glanced to the side mid press, and returned his gaze to Armin’s to listen on as he continued his work out. “Hm.”

“Well, I was thinking… maybe we could move on together. You’re very sweet and kind. I hate to see that go unappreciated. And I’d love to join you on your post-breakfast walks.” Armin simpered. “So… What do you say? Would you be interested?”

 _“Ah.”_ Reiner grunted as he finally set the barbell down, wiping the sweat of his brow and thought for a moment.

“24.” concluded Bertholdt.  
  
Reiner finally sat up to see eye to eye with Armin. “You know what? You’re a nice guy, Armin. And smart, and intriguing. And very lovely... Yeah. Alright. Let’s do it!” He beamed.

“Really?”

“Yeah! Let’s date.” He agreed, holding out his hand to shake on the deal. “To moving on!”

Armin grinned back and took his hand with a firm shake. “To moving on!”

* * *

 

Eren hadn’t seen much of Armin that day, oddly enough, and wondered if maybe he’d upset him by rejecting his morning walk offer… Considering maybe he should just suck it up and bare the balls to be alone with him, Eren decided he would ask Armin out for an evening stroll in the moonlight after dinner to make up for it. After all, maybe it wouldn’t be so scary in the dark wherein he couldn’t see Armin’s pretty face very well… He filled his dinner tray with the usual rations, cabbage soup with flavorless egg whites and the bland stale bread baked hours ago that morning. And then scoured the mess hall for his dear companion.

Mikasa tagged along behind him, always letting Eren’s decision dictate where she sat, and searched for Armin as well.

Eren quickly found him happily waiting by himself with his rations at a table towards the center, smiling contentedly. Eren smiled slightly himself at the sight and quickly made his way to the table to take his seat. “Hey, Armin!”

“Oh, ah-- Would you mind? That seat is taken...” Armin informed them with a halting hand gesture.

Mikasa’s lips parted curiously while she and Eren stopped and stood still by the table.

“Taken? By who?” Eren inquired, a slight indignity in his voice as he asked. 

“My date.” Armin beamed, rather excited by the concept now.

Eren’s eyelids burst wide open. _“Date?!”_

“Date?” Mikasa echoed a little more quietly.

“Yes?” Armin raised an amused eyebrow. “He said he’d join me for dinner, so, please, if you don’t mind...”

Eren’s mouth hung agape. “Ah-- Wh- _who_?! Who is it?!!”

“Rei--”

 ** _“Armiiin!!!”_** A loud jolly voice bellowed as Reiner strutted into the mess hall at last.

Armin turned around to greet him with a grand grin. “Hey! There you are! Where’ve you been?”

Reiner returned Armin’s grin ten-fold and sprinted over to the table to meet him, his arm immediately going around his tiny date's shoulders.

Eren’s jaw hung even lower at the sight of what seemed like a fever dream...

Mikasa’s reaction, albeit milder, wasn’t too far off from Eren’s.

Reiner pushed Armin's tray of rations aside and placed a tiny lidded pot on the table in front of the bright eyed blond. “I was in town picking up a surprise dinner for you!”

“Surprise dinner? What on earth--”

 _ **“Ta-da!”**_ Reiner sang as he lifted the lid off of the pot to reveal a rich, steaming helping of hasenpfeffer.

 _ **“OH!”**_ Armin cried in joy.

“You told me on our walk during lunch period that your favorite meal was rabbit stew, so I went to the market immediately when training was over to pick up some from a soup kitchen. _Guten appetit, mein liebling!_ ”

Armin immediately pulled Reiner into a hug. _“AW, YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE!”_

Eren’s tray finally dropped from his frozen, trembling hands with a loud crash to the floor as he stared on.

“Oh no, Eren--” Armin commented in genuine concern for his friend. 

Mikasa, whose hands were _always_ sturdy, immediately came to Eren’s “rescue” offering him her own tray. “Here, Eren. Take mine.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Mikasa! He can take mine!” Armin offered politely, sliding his tray of rations towards his friend. “I won’t be needing them tonight!” he chuckled.

“--...” Eren still stood frozen, mouth still agape, unable to form any words or sounds at all while still trying to process what the hell he was looking at...

Mikasa picked up Armin’s tray of food and stepped on Eren’s foot to wake him up. “Thank you, Armin. Enjoy your dinner date... Come on, Eren.” She ordered softly, nudging Eren along with her to the empty table on the other side of the mess hall.

Eren finally broke his gaze from the happy young couple for a moment but kept turning his head back around as he walked to look again, as though it’d turn out to be an illusion eventually...

Reiner took his happy seat in front of Armin, pleased as punch to find Armin so joyful for his gesture as the two started engaging in a seemingly warm and enthralling conversation. Now the entire mess hall was murmuring with interest in the new couple's debut.

Eren was still at a loss for words... What the hell was this _nightmare_ of an image he’d just witnessed there tonight...?

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man this was a little tough to write, I hate to see Armin with anybody besides Eren :( but it's an author's duty~ Jealous Eren arises >:3


	3. Muscles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren deals with Reiner and Armin's relentless flirting on Tuesday morning.

The stillness of the night fell over the camp just as it always did and the wee hours of it were as quiet as ever with all the trainees aslumber...

Eren laid wide awake in his bed, however, staring at the wood of the bunk above him, only seeing the image of Armin and Reiner on a cutesy dinner date burned into his brain...

Armin rolled around giddily in his sheets at the thought of his new boyfriend possibly dreaming about him in his sleep in the bunk 2 beds over and above him, and finally rolled over to face Eren in the bed next to him. "Eren?" he whispered, "Are you awake?..."

Eren wordlessly turned his head to the side to face Armin in the dark, his eyes wide open, and shivering if eyes could ever do such a thing. He thanked heaven that Armin's face was blackened not just by the dark of the room but by the shadow of the bed post as well so it wouldn’t trigger his  _feelings_.

"Sorry. I'm just... ah, I'm so _excited_. It feels good to be appreciated, you know? Is this how you feel with Mikasa around?"

Eren was silent but _screaming_ in his head... "No. No it is not." he whispered back. In fact, he only felt honestly appreciated when _Armin_ was around...

"Ah. Well. I hope someday you find somebody who makes you feel that way. I know you hate romance and the very idea of relationships, but... it really is a wonderful feeling. You deserve it."

Eren clutched the sheet over his waist.

"Well... Good night." Armin smiled and rolled over to sleep, actively aiming to face away from Eren.

Eren doubly cursed himself. Now he _really_ wished he'd said yes to that walk this morning...

* * *

Eren stirred awake, bed head in all its glory, and rolled over to find Armin had gone... And so had everyone else... He was late for breakfast.

He ran out of the cabin with a stumble, still trying to shove his legs into his boots in the process, and ran towards the mess hall to catch up with the others before he missed the breakfast hour. He was eager to talk to Armin and _try_  to give him proper best friend blessings for his new beaux, as much as he hated the notion, and also to confront him for not waking him up that morning. He quickly spotted the new couple in the center of the room, surrounded by the gossiping eyes and whispers of everyone around them. Armin had a beautiful smile on his face... and his big sparkling eyes were shining brightly... and Eren found himself suppressing a jealous growl, wishing that happy face was for _him.._. He approached the pair without thinking, forgetting all about his breakfast rations, and cleared his throat. "Ahem."

"Oh, good morning, Eren!" greeted Reiner.

Armin laughed out his own greeting. " _Good morni-i-ing!_ Hahaha! Reiner just told the funniest joke!"

"Oh, I bet." Eren muttered in a deadpan tone. "Armin, why didn't you wake me up?"

"Hmm? Oh, well, you shot up when they called us out for breakfast, but I guess you were still half asleep, huh? I guess I just assumed you didn't need my help. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about that, Armin!" Reiner interrupted sweetly. "After all, as he always says, _Eren Yeager doesn't need anyone!_ Right, Eren?"

Eren scrunched his lips, so angry at this new situation but also angry because Reiner genuinely meant that as a compliment and Eren couldn't think of a good reason to be angry... 

The amused crowd was already muttering to each other over the underlying tension building up between the 3. 

"Mhm." came Eren’s short response, before turning back to Armin. "Armin. I also wanted to see if maybe you'd like to hang out later? I already slept through half of breakfast but maybe we can take that stroll you wanted during lunch?"

"Ooh, ah, Reiner and I are pretty much booked all day... Maybe tomorrow?"

Reiner grabbed Armin's hand to stop him. "Ah-ah! I have a surprise in mind for you tomorrow too!"

"Ooh! Sorry, Eren. Maybe some other time, okay?"

Eren was hurt. He'd never been rejected for anything by Armin before... "That’s fine..."

"Oh! We'd better get a move on, Reiner! We've only got about 30 minutes before roll call!" Armin suggested, taking note of the time.

"Ah, yes! See you later, Eren! Armin's gonna time my laps while I jog this breakfast off. I'll really get a better sense of breath control too now that I have someone to talk to while running. Do you have someone like that to cure your morning routines?" Reiner asked with honest curiosity since he did genuinely admire Eren's mental fortitude in the face of exhaustion.

"I _used_ to..." Eren grumbled, referring to the shorter blond who was downing the last of his breakfast water and not paying a bit of attention to him.

Jean stuck his tongue out in disgust from his table on the sidelines for the typical gross Yeager brand of petty gay denial. He did feel a sense of justice now that _Eren_ got to experience class A jealousy for a change though.

 _"Ah!"_ Armin sighed satisfactorily as his cup came down onto his tray. "Alright, Reiner, let's go!"

The couple then carried their trays to the front of the hall to the crowd’s amusement, and with Reiner's arm around Armin's little waist, waltzed themselves outside into the warm sunlight.

As they left, a cheery "Oh, this sunshine is so nice! What a great way to wake up in the morning!" from Armin's voice could be heard from where the morning-lagged Eren stood, with an empty stomach and a sad expression...

Mikasa shyly approached Eren from the side. "I can walk outside with you, Eren..."

 _"Aghhhh..."_ Eren grumbled, not even minding Mikasa's presence as he rushed to the kitchen to get his late breakfast.

Jean shook his head at Eren’s billionth rejection of Mikasa’s affections, and took a swig of water...

* * *

The rest of the trainees finally came outside to find Reiner running laps in his tank top while Armin sat on the fence in an inadvertently cute display with his legs together, a watch in his hands, and a coy smile on his face. 

Eren glared for the sight as he approached the dusty training grounds with Mikasa at his side.

Reiner finally stopped beside his partner, out of breath and wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Okay, how many was that and how long?" he asked as he put his jacket back on.

Armin jolted with a blush and bit his lip. "Oh-- Um... I kind of lost track after 20 laps because I er... couldn't take my eyes off of your muscles... I'm sorry!"

Reiner smirked and lifted Armin up from the fence with a laugh as he twirled his precious boyfriend around in a playful dance. "Aw, don't ever apologize for that! It's nice to be appreciated!" He declared, tickling Armin's sides and neck to the sound of his squeals and giggles.

Eren grit his teeth and growled audibly before removing his own jacket and jamming it into Mikasa's arms to walk ahead towards the open training ground.

"Honestly, Armin, you're so cute that I don't know what to do with myself sometimes!" Reiner confessed.

Normally Armin hated being called cute but coming from a man like Reiner it was a VERY welcome term of endearment. "Oh, Reiner, you're so sweet!"

Eren (literally) bit his tongue, trying not to scream. He knew Armin hated being called cute and so never called him so, but in the back of his mind he always wondered if Armin would appreciate the sentiment if it were coming from _him.._. Putting himself in perfect viewing range for the frustrating blond couple, he rolled up his sleeves, fell to the ground, and stretched out his legs, preparing to do some push ups before their daily warm ups.

"That Eren, always trying to go above and beyond!" Reiner commented as he walked hand in hand with Armin to their places for roll call behind Eren.

Eren pretended not to notice as he began to press himself up.

Armin's sweet tone fell into Eren's ear. "Be careful, Eren, you don't wanna exhaust yourself before the actual exercising starts."

Eren smiled awkwardly as he turned around to look at Armin, struggling to find the right tone to speak with amidst the stomach cramps he was getting for working out right after eating. "I'm fine! I'm a soldier, after all!"

Mikasa took a seat by Eren's side.

"Okay, just don't make yourself sick..." Armin pleaded.

"I'll be _fine_!" Eren repeated, so irritated that Armin clearly saw him as a weakling in comparison to Reiner.

Reiner stroked Armin's hair before standing back to look at him in full view. "Boy... I hope you don't mind me saying this but you sure do look gorgeous in the sunlight, Armin. It really highlights your hair..."

"Aw, Reiner, th-thank you!" Armin blushed.

Eren began pushing himself up more furiously as another growl raged from his throat.

The girls of the camp gave their “ _aw's_ ”, including Christa, while the boys all snickered to themselves, both in amusement for the sappy couple and for Eren's obviously jealousy-driven work out... (all while pretending they weren't a little jealous themselves).

Mikasa watched Eren with an awkward expression, knowing what was going on but not really knowing how to react to it with everybody watching, prompting a sad eye roll from Jean at her unrequited dedication.

"You know, Reiner, the sunlight really highlights your muscles too! It really shows off what hard work and dedication you put into your body." Armin chimed.

The cramps in Eren's stomach worsened as he increased his speed even more.

Armin continued. "But what I really like is the way it brings out your eyes! You look so heroic, the way they sparkle..."

Eren gagged audibly but pressed himself onwards.

"Eren. Maybe you should stop..." Mikasa suggested in a gentle tone.

"I said I'm fine! Go get in line for roll or something!" he grunted, shooing her away after what was maybe his 20th push up (which was nearing his maximum)...

"Reiner? Would you... --never mind."

Armin's shy demeanor was so charming to Reiner. "No, no, tell me, what is it?"

"Well... Would you mind if I... squeezed your biceps? They just looked so meaty during your run and I can't stop wondering about them..." He confessed with an enthusiastic simper.

The entire surrounding camp mumbled a collective “ _whoooo_...” under their breaths, Ymir’s being the loudest, accompanied by Eren’s quiet whimper...

“Of course.” Reiner smirked.

Armin’s red cheeks were set ablaze as Reiner leaned down to let him wrap his dainty, excited little hands around the bulging flexed muscle...

“Hey, Armin, wanna see something _really_ cool? Hold on tight...” Reiner winked.

Armin obeyed and soon found himself lifted up into the air with his legs dangling over the ground as he held tight to Reiner’s incredibly strong arm.  _“WOAH!”_ He giggled as he hung there for a long moment before Reiner finally let him back down, fawning in admiration. “You’re _amazing_ , Reiner!!!” he cried.

The rest of the trainees couldn’t help but agree...

“Eren. You’ve already passed your maximum...” Mikasa informed him with concern.

Eren, who was now on his 30th push up, ignored her, trying his damnedest not to cry for the events he heard transpiring behind him...

 ** _“ATTENTION!!!”_** The Commandant’s loud voice finally ordered. 

Everyone scrambled to get into their places for roll call, including Armin who gave Reiner a flirty wave as he skipped merrily over to his place.

Before walking to her spot, Mikasa handed Eren back his jacket as he finally stood up again with the cramps in his stomach roaring at him.

 **“I hope you’re all well-rested cuz it’s time to put yourselves through the wringer!”** Commandant Shadis boomed. **“I want 20 jumping jacks and 20 push ups, NOW!”**

 **“SIR, YES, SIR!!!”** Came the prompt reply from all the soldiers as they immediately obeyed the order, jumping in time to Shadis’ count.

**_“1, 2, 3, 4,...”  
_ **

Eren, who was already sweating from the set of rage push ups he’d just done, kept replaying the sounds of Armin swooning over Reiner’s muscles in his head while his stomach cramps wailed on inside him.  _‘The sunlight really highlights your muscles!... But what I really like is the way it brings out your eyes!... You look so heroic the way they sparkle... WOAH! You’re amazing, Reiner!... Oh, Reiner, you’re so sweet...’_ Eren finally stopped jumping for a dizzy spell.

**_“COME ON, YEAGER, YOU’RE NEVER GONNA SLAY ANYTHING IF YOU DON’T KEEP UP! 15, 16, 17...”  
_ **

Eren started jumping again, but the thought of Armin in Reiner’s arms smacked him in the brain again and he finally had to stop completely, feeling like his stomach was erupting. 

**_“20! Now drop!--”  
_ **

Eren brushed the Commandant aside to run off towards the fence and threw up while the rest of the trainees breezed through their push ups.

The Commandant shook his head at the sick cadet and simply ignored the spewing scamp in favor of minding the rest of the busy trainees.

Hunched over the fence, Eren’s arm dangled over the wood as he heaved with his brain still whirling. “Fucking... Reiner...” He sighed wistfully, “ _Armin_... HRRGH--” and threw up again.

* * *

Eren took himself to the infirmary for the rest of the morning since he was too sickly to work out anymore. 

The sarcastic nurse gave him a hot herbal tea with honey to help settle the teen’s stomach while he lied there in bed, finding his illness rather funny. “That’ll teach you.”

Eren growled in annoyance as he sipped the tea. “My dad was a doctor, you know. I may have the knowledge to call you out on some quackery and cost you your job, for all you know.”

“ _HA!_ I highly doubt that when you’re in here for puking up the breakfast you scarfed down after doing 30 something push ups for no reason, dummy. I’m going on break, try not to spew again and make a mess of your 3D gear when you leave today, that shit cuts into the staff’s salary.” he laughed, tossing his childish patient a honey flavored candy in a condescending manner as he sauntered out the door. “Have a good afternoon, Grisha Jr!” 

Eren angrily unwrapped the candy and tossed it in his mouth, pouting as he grumbled to himself on the bed with his arms crossed. “Asshole...” His trembly fingers traced his arms and he grew somber... Spotting a mirror across the room, he rose up to stand in front of it, removing his jacket and rolling up his sleeves. With a grit in his teeth, he flexed his biceps to check their size... Compared to Reiner’s: _pitiful_... and they were really sore from all those unwonted extra push ups he did before getting sick... He sighed. Armin was dating Reiner... _Armin was dating **Reiner**... _ There was no beating that... And why was Eren even so bothered by it? He remembered the look on Armin’s face when he was chatting with Reiner that morning. A look only Eren ever received from him up until that week... and he began to sniffle. “It’s _my_ job to make him smile like that...” he cried, the tears finally following not long afterwards...

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I have to put you through this, Eren, I really am :'( 
> 
> lmao though poor Eren vs FEELINGS "ugh-- damn feelings!" What a cutie lol I love him
> 
> Apologies also for not giving a vomit warning, I didn't wanna spoil anything, gomen /).(\


	4. Wound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren struggles to make it to the end of day 1 of Armin dating Reiner.

The sounds of 3D gear recoils and anchors echoed in the forest while the cadets zoomed by and bounced off the trunks as fast as they could. Eren whooshed through the trees trying to think about anything but Reiner's hands all over Armin... and 3D gear training was a good way of doing that since it required not just one's entire body but one's entire focus too. These routines were typically timed and sent the cadets out into the woods to "slay" the newly rearranged dummy titans among the big trees under the instructors' watches. People like Mikasa, Bertholdt, Annie, and Reiner tended to finish first. Eren wasn't the best at it, to say the least, but tried his best every time... except for today when his focus couldn't be more skewed...

He blinked, trying to reset his focus again and grinned at the sight of a dummy titan just up ahead. "Gotcha..." With a shling and a slash, Eren's swords slit into the nape of the dummy, making but a small and hopeless divot nowhere near lethal size. "DAMN IT!" he cried. He set his sights forward again and grinned almost villainously at the next dummy just up ahead. "You're _mine_..." He growled.

_SHLINGGG!!!_

Eren nearly fell out of the air when something fast swooshed right by him at what felt like the speed of sound, leaving a more-than-lethal slice in the dummy nape he was aiming for. _'What the fuck?!'_

"Wow, Reiner, you're the fastest man alive!!!" came Armin's cheerful cry.

Eren wanted to throw up again... He knew that Reiner normally finished right behind Mikasa, but today he was clearly hanging back here with the pitifully slow Armin, like this were a quaint little lovers' stroll in the woods or some shit. Eren loathed that he wasn't fast enough to outzip them, nor could he risk his already-rocky grade by falling far behind. Thus, he was doomed to listen to the happy new couple purr sweet nothings to each other for the rest of the training...

"Hahaha!!!" the mirthy Reiner bellowed with his chest and shoulders bouncing as obnoxiously as Eren imagined... "Oh, Armin, you flatter me! Tell me, what's my next method of attack?!"

"These things pop up every 30 meters or so, so I say whip around a tree in about 20 seconds and earn some extra points from the instructors for the surprise element!!!" Armin answered with a blush, and soon spotted Eren flying just below them. "Oh, hi, Eren!!!"

Eren's heart ached and fluttered at the same time hearing Armin call his name again...

Reiner spotted Eren just as quickly "Hi again, Eren!!! Conserving energy, I see! Smart method!"

Eren snarled to himself and tried to tune them out, refusing to turn around while the echo in his brain of Armin fawning over Reiner's talents boiled his blood... Then he hatched an idea. If maybe HE could successfully perform Armin's plan to grand execution... Armin might be singing HIS praises! Armin was lagging behind just to watch Reiner now, so he'd definitely see Eren too. He glanced behind him to see where Armin's attention was and, as expected, it was on Reiner. So Eren decided to grapple his wires onto a tree branch above to launch himself into the air for a nice open view of his back in Armin's line of sight. He shot up in midair with grace and did an ostentatious extra twirl for him, flashing a dazzling smile his way.

As luck would have it, Armin certainly noticed it and seemed taken a bit by surprise. He smiled back, as any friend would.

Eren quickly grappled the branch of the next tree ahead, glancing back to check Armin's focus again, and glided through the air swiftly, keeping his eye out for Reiner's position ahead of him... He glanced back again.

Armin raised an eyebrow, a little confused by Eren's constant glancing at him... But smiled at him nonetheless each time.

When his wire finished recoiling, Eren turned around again, his smile returning ten fold for Armin, almost looking creepy at this point. He allowed himself to fall backwards, doing a flip in the air before grappling the next tree ahead of him. All this intense focus on everything at once, along with Armin's fleeting smiles, made these few seconds seem like ages to him. He turned around again... and winked at Armin.

Armin wasn't sure what Eren was doing... He cocked his head in curiosity, wondering if he had something in his eye, and smiled a little less easily at him, beginning to worry if his friend might be sick again.

The tree Eren was projected to practice ambushing from was just up ahead. He couldn't wait to see the stars in Armin's dreamy eyes when he proved no hunter was better or more special than Eren Yeager, especially not pretty boy Braun. He shot out his grappling wires and successfully hooked the tree's branches, preparing to swing around it's trunk to ambush the dummy and turned to see Armin yet again before recoiling... Unfortunately, however, Armin's focus had already gone back to Reiner, who'd just successfully performed the trick and was already heading up to the next tree... Eren's fierce eyes immediately lost their sparkle as they watched Armin blush for Reiner's successful ambush that Eren didn't see... All he saw was Armin happy and smiling with the love of another man whom Eren couldn't catch up to... and it made his heart ache...

_**THUD!!!!!** _

The sound of Eren's body slamming full force into the tree he was meant to swing around echoed in its painfully defeated way where Armin and Reiner were flying.

 ** _"Eren!!!"_** Armin cried, and immediately turned around to go help his poor friend, whom slipped from the rock-hard barky tree trunk and onto the dirty wet ground with another defeated thud. **_"Man down!!!"_** He called as he let himself fall ungracefully to the ground, and rushed over to Eren's side, sitting with his knees in the dirt as he looked him over.

 _ **"Man down!"**_ Reiner called and turned around quickly too, motioning for the instructor to come follow to Eren's aid. Following Reiner as well were the various other cadets on the back end of the charge who'd heard his call, gathering around Eren's barely-conscious body resting heavily in the dappled sunlight.

"Eren?! Eren!!!" The panicked little blond's voice urged.

Eren's dizzy eyes stared into the black nothingness behind in his eyelids with a massive migraine from the crash throbbing under the bloody wound in his head and the irrelevant ache still in his chest...

"Eren?! Eren?!! Can you hear me?!!!" Armin's echoey light voice wailed desperately, while his big boyfriend loyally stood behind him with concern, along with the other lagging cadets who'd caught up with him.

As the feeling slowly returned to his body, Eren could feel Armin's tiny hands shaking him fervently in an attempt to wake him. "Mmm... Armin? Ahh... It hurts..."

"Is he alright?!" Marco asked worriedly as he ran onto the scene.

"He still looks like an idiot to me." came Jean's snarky response as he stared down at the aching teen in the dirt.

"Don't be so rude, Jean, a good man is hurt, and that should be more than enough for you to care." Reiner scolded, more than happy to defend his boyfriend's best friend.  

Armin paid no mind to the others at all and continued trying to awaken his friend with tears in his eyes. "Eren?! Come on, please wake up!!! Eren?!"

The woozy dark haired boy only mumbled deliriously. "Mmm- mm... Armin..." He slowly began to open his eyes again. "Armin...? I..." As Eren's view came into focus again at last, he saw Armin hovering over him in concern, with those big abysmal eyes staring at him, and the warm yellow sunshine filtering from behind him, giving him an ethereal angelic appearance that seemed to want to pull words right out of Eren's heart and into his throat. "My Armin... please don't leave... stay with _me_..." he whispered, taking Armin's hand in his.

Armin raised his eyebrow with a light blush crowning his cheek, never minding all the gossipy murmurs behind him. "E-Eren?..."

Within another moment, Eren's consciousness returned and realized that everyone was staring at him while he lay on the ground. "Nnh... What?..."

"Oh, Eren, you scared me..." Armin mewled.

"Hmm?..." The injured soldier finally sat up slowly with his hand slipping from Armin's. _'Oh, right... I flew into a tree... Oh, god, I FLEW INTO A TREE! IN FRONT OF ARMIN!!! OH, GOD.'_ he thought, with a panicked expression taking over his face, before his body gave out again and he fell back to the ground. "Ah--"

"Eren!" Armin cried out, seeing Eren's eyes go dizzy again as he hit the ground.

"Armin..." As Eren's vision began to blur again and fade out to black, he could see a fuzzy vision of big brawny arms coming in to take him while a low voice muttered comforts.

"Don't worry. _He's in good hands..._ "

* * *

About 30 minutes later, Eren's eyes finally opened again to the ugly sight of the grinning nurse standing alone over him in the lone grey infirmary...

"Welcome back, stupid." he chuckled.

* * *

Night fell over the camp and the bandaged-up Eren sat bitterly at his lonely table, chewing his stale bread angrily as the shameless blond couple flirted all through dinner time at their table in the center of the loud dining hall. The tight, blood stained bandage around his head was already crinkled and creased for how much he'd been furrowing his eyebrows under it since he saw them again, (and, if Mikasa didn't know any better, he looked like he was downright steaming). Eren's glaring grey eyes became increasingly stone cold the longer they stared at the popular new lovers...

"Okay, okay. Ready?... Fire!" Armin called, and shot another baby carrot into the air with his spoon for Reiner to catch in his mouth.

Reiner caught this one too, after 4 successes in a row already, proudly earning the happy applause of his sweetheart. "Aha!"

"Bravo! Ah, you're so talented, Reiner!"

"Meh-meh-meh-meh-meh..."  Eren silently mocked with his snarling lips. "Fucking disgusting!"

Mikasa's eyes kept darting both to Eren, and the couple like a spectator at a showdown, wondering what she could do for Eren in regards to it.

"Aw, my sweet little Min-now, but you do flatter me so!" Reiner bellowed as he snuggled the perky apple-cheeked Armin right in front of everyone.

"What a stupid nickname!" Eren growled to himself as he slammed an angry fist on the table, splishing his unnoticed soup onto his cheek.

Jean watched from the table behind Eren's and rolled his eyes for his complete and utter empty headedness.

Mikasa winced. "Eren... this jealousy of yours is a little unhealthy, don't you think?" she suggested in that sweet and meek voice of hers.

" _Hä?!_ What jealousy?"

"Of Reiner, dating Armin."

" _Eh?!_ Why would I care about Reiner dating Armin! I don't care what Reiner does, or what Armin does, or what they do all day, blowing off their training to make goo-goo eyes at each other, or coo sweet nothings at each other, or touch each other all over, or how Armin ogles Reiner's body while he rubs his big gross hands all over him. It's none of my business! It doesn't affect me and I have nothing to be jealous of." he argued, taking an angry bite of his carrot soup and chewing much more harshly than he needed to.

"Well, it seems to me like it rather _bothers_ you that Armin's dating Reiner..."

"Well, it doesn't!"

"Okay, then why do you keep growling about it?"

"I just think Armin could do better is all! My best friend deserves someone strong and brave, who cares about him, and protects him, and treats him right, and makes him happy, and I just don't know that Reiner has what he needs! So I'm just rather wary of this, in all honesty."  

"Eren... this is the most I've seen Armin smile since we were kids... don't you think maybe they're..."

" _What?_ Maybe they're _what?!"_

"...quite perfect for each other?"

"Ah--... _HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?! IT'S MORE THAN OBVIOUS FROM HERE THAT THIS IS JUST SOME SILLY PHASE! IT'LL END IN HEARTBREAK BY FRIDAY!!!"_ he shouted, unaware of how riled up he was getting.

 _"OI, EREN!!!"_ Jean scolded indignantly as he approached their table, interrupting Mikasa's mellow response. "Who the hell taught you how to talk to ladies, you bastard?!"

Eren stood up to meet Jean's eye-level, forming fists at his sides. "I dunno, was it the same guy who gave you that ugly horse's hair cut?"

The other cadets now turned their attention to the brewing fight, growing excited for the impromptu dinner show.

Eager to start a fight with his idiotic nemesis all day now, Jean finally grabbed the dark haired boy by the shirt to threaten him. "RAGHH-- You make me SICK, you know that?!"

Armin's cry of concern rang out, _"Eren!"_ , and put a look of worry on Reiner's face.

"Right back at you, asshole!" Eren roared as he raised his fists, more than happy to take his frustrations of the day out on Jean's fight-happy ass.

Mikasa huffed and prepared to stand up and haul Eren away, only to be succeeded by Reiner, who picked up the whimpering Jean like he were merely a pound of pork meat.

He threw him onto his shoulder like a sack of dirty laundry to meet his eyes. "Now, Jean. Poor Eren is already injured and out of his mind from it, so why don't you just leave well enough alone?" he ordered gently with a smile.

Eren blushed as he stood there, no taller than Reiner's big barrel chest, feeling even more emasculated than he did when Mikasa did that to him since Armin's view of him was on the line...

"R-Reiner, what are you doing?!" Jean inquired with a shaky voice.

"Well, isn't it obvious that my boyfriend's best friend is now under my official protection? So you might wanna stay out of his way... That's all I wanted to say. Make sense?"

"--Perfect!" 

A sweet swoon from Armin traveled through the air and into Eren's blushing humiliated ears. "Ohhh..."

Eren's red faced expression drooped while his sad, glassy eyes watched Armin gaze at Reiner... Armin was seriously fawning over Reiner... over _Reiner_... Armin was swooning over Reiner _fucking_ Braun... He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take...

Reiner let Jean down with a friendly smile and as Jean scampered away, he returned to his table with Armin, simpering at him all the way.

Eren watched Armin beam back at Reiner with a beautiful sunny grin and the couple reached out to interlace their hands. After running them affectionately through Armin's hair and over his rosy cheeks, Reiner's big meaty hands practically swallowed up Armin's little dainty ones in the gentlest way as they interlocked... Eren's lonely, empty hand began to ache as it hung at his cold side. He always loved holding those hands. They always fit so perfectly together... But now, they had Reiner's entwined with them... instead of his...

Mikasa watched Eren stare at the couple and tried to come up with the right response... "Eren? Would you like me to walk you to bed? You must be sore from the crash..."

Eren wiped his eyes, not even acknowledging her question, and grumbled out of the dining hall for the night...

* * *

Eren laid there in bed with his head still aching as it sank into his pillow, staring blankly at nothing... The sounds of Armin and Reiner laughing and chatting from Reiner's bunk 2 beds over and above echoed all throughout the room, or at least in Eren's ear. He rolled his head to the side and stared at Armin's empty bed, wishing he were there beside him, wishing he could _be_ Reiner, or wishing he were the one receiving Armin's tender affections... Reiner may have been stronger, smarter, taller, and handsome-er than he was but... surely he had something to offer Armin that Reiner didn't, right? Their years of undying friendship? His ultimate trust? His endless devotion? He would at least hold Armin's hand any time he wanted too... with his hands that fit Armin's so perfectly. Was Reiner really so special?

"Hehehe, Reiner, you've got the best sense of humor! I haven't laughed this much since I was a kid!" The little blond boy giggled whilst sitting comfortably on Reiner's mattress.

"You've got such a charming laugh, Armin! It's quite an honor for me to bring out of you."

"Hmm." Eren huffed, and rolled over to face the other side of the room.

"How sweet..." Armin simpered.

"You look quite charming when you're blushing too... Very handsome... and _kissable_."

Eren quickly rolled back over after hearing that, and sat up to listen nervously, with his heart aching again.

"Ahhh, you make me blush too much... Y-You're very handsome and kissable, yourself!"

Eren whimpered from his blanket, just praying that Armin wouldn't kiss him. Bertholdt was up there too, right? He surely wouldn't kiss Reiner in front of him...

"Aw, how did I get to be so lucky to have someone as sweet as you? It's getting late though, Armin, so we should get some sleep."

Eren exhaled, "Phew...", and anxiously laid back down while he listened for Armin's response.

"Alright. Good night, Reiner." Armin cooed, and followed it with a sweet kiss on Reiner's chiseled cheek, bringing a brighter blush to both cadets' faces. He gave him a dear smile under his half-lidded doe eyes and happily climbed down the ladder before strolling in a blithe manner to his own bunk. He looked over at Eren's bed, seeing his shadowed friend laying there, facing away at the wall, and debated whether he should disturb him. Deciding to just let Eren sleep, he crawled under his own blanket and snuggled against his pillow with kitten-like enthusiasm...

Suddenly, Eren's low voice broke the silence. "How you doing?..."

"Mm? I'm great, thank you!" Armin replied joyously, glad to speak to Eren before sleeping after all. "You?"

Eren finally rolled over, trying not to show his heartbreak on his face, and met Armin's eyes. "Fine."

"How's your head? Are you still sore?" he asked, resisting the urge to stroke Eren's hair by old habit whenever he was hurt.

"I'm fine. Just a headache... How are things with Reiner?"

"Oh, so wonderful!" Armin exclaimed softly with a little sparkle in his eye. "He's so sweet, and considerate, and such a fun guy to be around! I'm having a great time with him."

"Oh. Good. I'm glad you're happy..." Eren tried to smile for him but could only muster a tense straight line with his lips at best...

"Thanks, Eren. I hope you get to be that happy with someone too... I really do."

"...Good night." he concluded before rolling back over, not wanting Armin to see his tears.

"Good night..."

Though forcing himself not to cry until Armin was surely asleep, Eren's pillow quickly dampened while the quiet tears flowed out of his eyes mercilessly of their own accord... _'My Armin...'_ he thought wistfully, with his aching hand yearning to be filled with Armin's all the while as he drifted into sleep. _'Please don't leave... Stay with me...'_

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last, an update!!! Sorry for the wait, I had eremin season to host, and Peachy's fic to finish, and depression to wade through, and yadda yadda... But I've been dying to get this fic going again^^ 
> 
> Poor Eren, I really do hate to do this to him :( it hurts me too to write cute reiner/armin fluff. Minnow is the perfect dumb pet name for Reiner to give him though lmaoooo


	5. Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren realizes he's just not "Prince Charming" compared to Reiner's perfection of the role...

 

 _"EREN!!!"_ Echoed Armin's angelic voice in the training grounds as its master was surrounded by evil smiles and clenching fists shadowing over him in the afternoon sunlight. Doom was closing in on him and yet he refused to submit, despite ensuring his certain defeat this way...

But suddenly, like a whirlwind of fury and nobleness, came Eren Yeager, throwing punches left and right to save the lovely boy in question. A force for good and a breath of hope, as Armin saw him.

Relieved, Armin had moved away to sit safely on the fence with a blush in the sunshine as he patiently waited for Eren to finish the fight, wholly fawning over his hero.

Eren laughed and scoffed at the various jerks, whom may have been taller and bulkier than him, but not nearly as brave or motivated. Within a few moments, he defeated them all, without breaking much of a sweat beyond a light glisten, (the way Armin liked it)... He looked over and saw the darling blond smiling at him, with his hands over his throbbing heart and his starstruck eyes eagerly anticipating him to come hither... The grinning Eren took a refreshing deep breath, wiped his brow, puffed out his chest, and sauntered over to the divinely handsome damoiseau waiting for him with outstretched arms and scooped him up into his own. "It's okay, Armin." he purred "I've destroyed all the bad guys for you."

"Oh, Eren..." Armin sighed, so dazzled by his savior. He hugged his neck, feeling ever safe and protected in Eren Yeager's warm, knightly arms.

Eren's grin shifted a little. "You know, I'm feeling rather thirsty..."

Armin pulled away with wide, naive eyes and reached over to hand Eren the canteen of water sitting on the fence post.

Eren chuckled heartily, and stared deep into Armin's eyes with a powerful smirk. "No, silly..."

Armin beamed, quickly getting the right message, and pulled himself in for a deep kiss, with his heart pounding in his chest and the butterflies swarming in his stomach.

The boys indulged in the warm, passionate, intimate moment before the commentary of the crowd surrounding them interrupted it.

 _"Wow, Eren's such a dream!"_ the girls swooned. _"Yes, yes, he's my hero!" "What a heartbreaker!"_

 _"I sure do admire him!"_ muttered the jealous blushing boys. _"I'm endlessly envious of his talents and power!" "I wish he was mine!"_

_"So lucky to have Armin too!" "Yes, ugh, they're both such catches!"_

Reiner cried pitifully into Bertholdt's indifferent shoulder. "I never really had a chance, did I?"

"Against Eren Yeager? Of course not!" Jean frowned. "I wish  _I was him_..." 

Armin blushed, growing anxious for all the gossip, and mewled in his hero's ear. "Eren...?"

"Don't worry, my sweet, I've got you..."

 

Eren quickly took Armin away somewhere safe where they could be alone: the shimmering camp lake at sunset.

Armin sat on Eren's cape-turned-picnic blanket, smiling wistfully at the view...

"You see that lake Armin? Just imagine it were the ocean!" Eren proclaimed excitedly from beside his lover. "You see? I didn't forget... I'll definitely get you there someday, and when I do, I'll take you sailing on it, all over the world!"

"Oh, Eren..." the blond boy simpered, looking up into Eren's eyes, enthralled by every word on his lips. "I can't wait..."

Eren gently brushed his hand lovingly against Armin's red cheek, with endless admiration and an adoring smile. "Hmm... I was gonna wait until we got to the ocean for this... but why wait?"

Armin gasped as Eren rested on bended knee and took his hands in his.

"Armin Arlert... my best friend, my strength, my light, and my love, I'm the luckiest man in the world to have you, and I want to make you as happy as you make me, and be with you forever. Will you marry me?"

Armin gazed at him as he pondered his answer, with the sun highlighting his sparkling eyes in the most dazzling way that made Eren's heart bound in his chest. "Eren... I--"

 

 _ **"BREAKFAST CALL!!!"**_ came the commandant's unwonted shouting from outside the barracks, alerting all the dormant trainees to awaken.

 

Eren's hand grasped onto nothing as his eyes finally opened to find only the shadowy, grey interior of the barracks and his lonely arm stretched over his pillow towards Armin's empty bed... He sat up in his sheets, feeling heartbroken and nauseous to have reawakened to the same ugly world where Armin was dating Reiner...

* * *

 

Eren walked slowly with a sullen, frustrated expression to the dusty training grounds after his breakfast, which he'd barely touched...

As always, Mikasa walked close by her liege, concerned for Eren, and wondering what she should do for him... She began to worry for him a little more as they neared the training grounds where Reiner and Armin were already prepping for their morning exercises.

Armin stood leaning against the fence, watching with glee as Reiner ran his laps, admiring him through and through for his endurance and strength. "Keep it up! You're doing marvelously!"

Eren's quiet brooding turned back into a fiery snarl when he heard Armin cheering on his big buff boyfriend again...

Reiner grabbed the fence with a jarring clutch as he finally stopped right next to Armin, sending a shiver down his lover's little spine.

"--Time!" Armin called as he paused the stop watch, biting his lip. "Remarkable! You've managed to top your best speed since just yesterday, Reiner!"

Eren glared as a rumble escaped his throat. "Mmm..."

"Well, it's only because I have such a handsome boy to impress over here!" The sweaty powerhouse grinned, and quickly snatched up his little beaux in his big meaty hands, raising him up over his head.

Armin's happy squeals and howling laughter as Reiner bench pressed him into the air above filled the morning atmosphere, much to everyone's amusement.

Eren growled furiously, clenching his fists in anger while his face turned red. "Mikasa, let me lift you up!"

"Eh?! Eren, I don't think that's a good idea, you're not strong enough."

"It's fine! I've got this, come on!" He insisted, holding out his hand.

Mikasa blushed and meekly took his hand to let him attempt the exciting move.

Eren pulled her into his arms and strained to pick her up, winning the chuckles of everyone around him, but he only paid mind to Armin and Reiner's oblivious flirting. He managed to raise her heavy body up to his chin while she shyly buried her happy face into her scarf, but grunted helplessly as he failed to raise her any further than his jawline. Seeing the sparkling eyes and smile Armin was giving Reiner, however, gave him a new surge of determination and with this motivation, he finally managed to press her further up into the air... only to topple over with her onto the ground. _"Shit!"_

The crowd behind him laughed, with Sasha and Ymir snorting particularly loudly.

"Mr. Badass over here, indeed! Ahaha!!!" Sasha wailed, hunched over in laughter.

Eren defended himself with a blush. "It's just cuz I skipped breakfast!"

"Suuure!" Ymir sang.

Mikasa finally recognized an opportunity to help Eren, and win his favor too, and so took it with pride... "Here, Eren. Don't worry. I'll show you how it's done."

"No, no, no, wait, _Mikasa, wait!_ \--" Eren begged, but it was too late...

Mikasa raised him up over her head like he were a mere breadbasket, and tossed him lightly into the air a few times.

Eren covered his bright red face, ashamed of the laughter from all around and more so of Armin seeing him like this...

Once the crowd was laughing loudly enough to grab their attention, Armin and Reiner finally noticed the "cute couple" mirroring them, and grinned brightly to each other in celebration.

"Way to go, Eren! Finally collected Mikasa's affections! What a nice couple you make!" Reiner bellowed happily.

Eren uncovered his face nervously from the air above Mikasa's head to see what Armin was thinking... and found Armin giving him a sweet smile beneath his big round eyes and knitted eyebrows. "Fuck me..." he moaned quietly, and went limp as he fell back down into Mikasa's arms like some kind of meek little bride.

* * *

 

After enduring a morning of exercises with more merciless flirting from the blond power couple, Eren tried to power through the rock climbing exercises. These routines consisted of letting the trainees climb a cliffside, with no lifelines, to the top as quickly as possible; avoiding any rolling hay bails the instructors sent down, as well as the natural rock slides that could send the soldier to his "death" into the safety hay bails at the bottom. This was one of the most dangerous training practices the corps put its cadets through, but the more one survived them, the more confident they became... unless you're Armin Arlert. Eren always took special care to look out for Armin when they were in the same group scaling the cliffside, but since his group today also consisted of Reiner, Armin was downright _enjoying_ himself, never minding Eren's presence in the slightest. Armin didn't need Eren's help at all...

"Just yell at me if you need any help, 'Minnow!" Reiner called, successfully dodging the hay bail obstacle coming his way.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine!" Armin insisted optimistically, even though he was struggling to hold his weight up as always...

Eren had a feeling that Armin was attempting to prove himself worthy of Reiner's affections today, meaning he'd likely put himself in danger by overreaching...

_**WHAP!!!** _

_"AH!--"_ Eren growled as a heavy bail of hay suddenly hit him in the face while he was staring at Armin. He slid down a couple of meters before finding his grip again.

"Eren! Are you hurt?!" Mikasa yelled, already halfway through with the exercise.

"I'm fine! Focus on yourself, would you?!"

"Aw, come on now, Eren, is that any way to talk to your girlfriend?!" Sasha teased.

_"She's not my girlfriend!!!"_

"Don't worry, Eren, no one thinks less of you for dating Mikasa!" Connie consoled sweetly while dodging a hay bail of his own.

 _"Oh, would you saps pay attention?!"_ Jean scolded, bitterly climbing while his hatred of Eren boiled behind his nose.

It wasn't long before Mikasa made her way near the top, where Reiner would normally have been by now as well if he weren't so busy minding Armin.

Armin watched as Reiner dominated the cliffside up ahead of him on the right, like it were merely a child's game, and used this image of his boyfriend to inspire his willpower. He climbed as fast as he could, refusing to mind how much he was exerting of his body, and made his way to Reiner's side at last, exhausted, but happy... _**"Woah!!!"**_

Eren's eyes darted back to Armin, who'd lost his grip and slipped back down at least 2 meters thanks to a tiny rockslide from above. "Shit-- Hang on, Armin!" he called, and started making his way towards his friend instead of the goal, in case a tiny rockslide became a huge one, as has been known to happen, especially with big, heavy soldiers like Reiner climbing ahead of you. _"Ah--"_

"Eren! What are you doing?!" Mikasa cried while she watched Eren nearly lose his grip trying to climb over to the other side.

"Just finish the exercise already, quit worrying about me!" 

"Idiot!" Jean shouted, and tossed a small rock just ahead of Eren, hitting a big hanging boulder above him...

Eren turned around to curse him, never minding where the rock hit... _"Oi, fuck you!"_

Armin looked up to see what all the commotion was about, and curiously saw Eren coming his direction. "Eren?..." Suddenly, he also caught sight of a rock slide that began tumbling down towards Eren, thanks to the rock Jean had tossed. _" **EREN, WATCH OUT!!!"**_

Eren's heart fluttered amidst the concern when he heard Armin call his name and glanced in his direction. "Eh?" Of course by not paying attention to himself, the rock slide hit him, with the large boulder Jean's rock disturbed smacking into him particularly painfully.

Mikasa and Armin both cried in concern as Eren lost his grip and was rushed down the cliff by the tumbling rocks. _**"EREN!!!"**_

Reiner, near the top now, looked back down to check on Armin after hearing him scream and quickly spotted a bail of hay barreling towards his distracted boyfriend. **"ARMIN, WATCH OUT!"**

Eren looked up and caught sight of the impending threat that'd surely knock weak little Armin right off the cliff and onto the ground! He called out to him as he fell towards his own "demise". _**"ARMIN!!!"**_

Armin looked up and froze in nervousness, watching the bail of hay roll toward him, imagining it were a titan. _"Ah--"_ But without warning, he found himself quickly snatched into the huffing Reiner's big meaty arm within merely half a second.

Eren watched Armin form a big smile and hug Reiner tight, the way he used to hug Eren when he was nervous, and felt that ache in his heart again... He reached out pointlessly for Armin as he neared the ground, wishing he were within reach, and landed at the bottom of the cliff into the safety hay bails at last. _"Oof--"_ Following Eren were the crumbling rocks chasing him, with the biggest one landing between his legs and the smaller ones hitting his stomach. **"AHCK!!!--"**

Armin looked down in concern. _"Ere--"_

"Don't worry about him." Reiner smiled, and nodded his head in Mikasa's direction as she cascaded downwards to his aid. "See? Mikasa's got him."

Armin exhaled and followed Reiner's lead to the top...

Eren stared blankly at the sky, feeling quite empty at the moment, just wishing to himself in a low whisper. "Armin..." Mikasa finally appeared, shadowing over him and shaking her head the way a disappointed mother does. He sighed and closed his eyes, letting his head sink into the safety bails of hay beneath him, and ignoring the pain throughout his body.

* * *

 

Noontime sent all the cadets to lunch after a rough day of rock climbing, minus Eren who still wasn't in the mood to eat. He wandered the training grounds alone, finally getting Mikasa to leave him be to put the rumors to rest that they were dating, and wished his world were like the one he'd dreamt about last night... wishing Armin saw him as someone special he could put his hopes in and love with all his heart... He sighed, longing for their childhood days again when he was lucky enough to be the one person Armin Arlert was friends with...

_"OW-- KHAH--"_

Eren's head turned immediately to the sounds of distress, recognizing them instantly as Armin's.

_"Y-YOU'RE ONLY HITTING ME CUZ I'M AN EASY TARGET AFTER YOUR HARD DAY'S FAILURE TO BECOME A STRONG SOLDIER! ISN'T THAT RIGHT?! THERE'S NO OTHER REASON TO! OW-- Y-YOU JUST PROVED IT!"_

_"SHUT UP, YOU SNAKEY LITTLE BITCH!"_

_"OW--"_

Eren growled loudly and began sprinting towards the fight as fast as he could, desperate to save Armin, never minding how sore he still was from the rock slide earlier. _"I'M COMING, ARMIN!!! HANG ON!!!"_ The fire in his fierce eyes burned even brighter the closer he got to the commotion, more than ready to destroy whatever sick bastard dared to lay a hand on his Armin. If there was anything he could still manage to do in this world, it was gonna be protecting Armin. He turned the corner and saw Armin look at him with teary eyes as he was held in a light haired teen's grip right before being slammed against the wall. Eren let out a loud roar before leaping onto the scene... only for a much bigger, faster defender to swoop in in his stead. As the attacker came into focus, it was revealed to be none other than Reiner...  

Eren (and Armin) watched with wide, fearful eyes as Armin's sweet hearted boyfriend became a merciless warrior. His smile was now a horrifying grimace and the look in his eyes clearly read that he was intent on "making his point clear": no one may mess with his boyfriend on his watch. The harassing teens were reduced to trembling cowards, begging for mercy with their bloody swollen lips until Reiner allowed them to scamper off. The Shiganshina boys were speechless from where they were...

Reiner turned around to Armin with his snarl immediately melting into his kind smile again. "I'm so sorry about that, Armin... Are you okay?" he asked, kneeling down to help his shaking boyfriend back up to his feet.

"I-I'm fine... Thank you, Reiner..." Armin replied, his face still awestruck for the violent heroism.

"No problem. Please call me next time, alright? I'd be devastated if anything happened to you..." Reiner cooed, and gently wiped the blood from Armin's cheek before kissing his forehead, successfully bringing a smile back to Armin's face. "Come on. Let's get you to the infirmary."

Eren could only watch as Reiner tenderly held Armin up and began walking him away, with his sense of inferiority bubbling inside him and breaking his heart...

* * *

At the end of the afternoon, Eren decided to just head to the barracks to rest, feeling uninterested in anything beyond sleeping again to escape the world he was in... He somberly dragged himself into the dorm, met with the snark of the other cadets.

"Hey, Eren, glad to you see you came down from Mikasa's arms okay." Thomas joked.

Jean quickly rebuffed. "Shut up, you! They're not dating!"

"Of course _you_  wanna believe that!" Samuel chuckled, inspiring laughter from everyone else too. "Too bad _you-know-who_ of all people has her heart."

"I think we should all be kind to Eren. He's had a rough week." Marco quickly intervened.

Eren couldn't care less though. He ignored the chatter as best he could and crashed face-first onto his bed, moaning into his pillow. _"Armiiin..."_

"Yes, Eren?" Armin replied with a happy gasp to see his friend again.

Eren jolted and sat up with a light scream. " _GAH!!!_ You scared me..."

"Oh, I'm sorry... I've been resting here all afternoon since those guys beat me up. Thanks for coming to my rescue... But luckily you don't have to anymore. I always hated seeing you go through that."

Eren tried to suppress his ache at that, feeling Armin really did have no use for him at all anymore. "Oh... It's no trouble..."

"...What about you? Were you hurt when you fell off the cliff?"

"Nope. I was fine. I-I'm tough, you know." he blushed.

"I know... I'm glad Mikasa came to your rescue. Even if you're not dating after all." Armin chuckled.

Eren frowned, considering whether or not to say what was really on his mind... "Mmm... Armin?..."

"Hmm?"

"...I--" Eren was interrupted by the sound of a warm guitar chord coming from outside the barracks, calling everyone's attention to the window.

_"My Armin..._

_My sweet, ever fair, lovely Armiiin..."_

Armin sat up and blushed. He hopped out of bed and ran to the doorway, despite the aches, and thrusted the door open to see what was happening. Reiner was on bended knee serenading him by guitar... He blushed even brighter, sweetly put his hands over his heart, and beamed for the lovely display. He was quickly joined by everyone else in the cabin, wow'ing at what a dedicated lover boy their noble Reiner really was... everyone except Eren.

_"Think of you everywhere, you're my charmiiin'..._

_Prince of my dreams and my daylight,_

_My darlinnn'_

_Oh my heart, can't go on like this,_

_Beating, and beating, and beating for you!_

_Just needing, just needing, to be beside you!"_

Eren sat alone in the shadow of his bed, staring down at his lap while he listened to the song with a glum face, and his sore arms aching to hold Armin...

_"My love, my dear, my sweetest, brightest, flame in the darkest night,_

_Oh, my Armin..._

_Please say you'll be mine, ah be mine?_

_Oh Armin, oh Armin, be mine?..."_

Armin squealed and ran off the porch right into Reiner's arms. "You're wonderful, Reiner! Thank you _so_ much... I feel so much better now!"

"Of course, mein liebling. Let's have dinner together in my bed." he purred.

This brought the crowd to gossipy awe, despite the intent being purely innocent.

"Oh, I'd love that..." Armin simpered, and hugged the big soldier again.

Eren began to silently cry... He shut his eyes tight, and mumbled to himself in a hushed tone. _"Armin... I love you..."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I considered doing a swim meet exercise instead of rock climbing, but rock climbing felt more exciting and it had a canon image to go on~
> 
> Reiner's song is a wholly made up tune also, hum to it in whatever melody you wish!^^
> 
> Poor Eren though :'( I'm still so sorry to do this to him... RainaAru hurts me too... Wow but he's a slow learner lol
> 
> Reiner bench pressing Armin and pissing Eren off into trying to do it with Mikasa was the scene I'd been dying to write since I started this also ahahahah<3333


	6. Rainstorm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The amazing Reiner brings Armin yet another surprise that leaves Eren feeling defeated...

Thursday was a long day for Eren... Enduring a swim meet where Reiner's big wet meaty hands busied themselves all over Armin's dry torso... Eren considered faking an injury just to get out of it. But he was equally grateful that Reiner kept Armin's head above the water since he knew he was still sore from yesterday's beating. And thankfully, the swim meet didn't last long anyway due to a blessed storm appearing. This lead to a surprise study day, where the trainees gathered in the classroom for an impromptu lecture. Eren felt so lonely without Armin in the usual seat next to him. And it was made worse by the whispers and low giggles coming from Armin and his incredibly annoying boyfriend behind him... _"Damn that Reiner."_ he thought, _"Armin's never going to be able to concentrate with that guy touching him the whole time."_ An empty complaint, considering Armin perked up to answer and ask questions all class period, as intuitive a student as always...

Dinner soon rolled around that evening. No one had seen Reiner for a few hours, but Armin was soon waiting for him patiently in the mess hall. And given the first chance at alone time with him all week, Eren decided to catch up with Armin.

"Hey! Is that seat taken?" he asked kindly, swallowing the flutters in his stomach from seeing Armin smile at him again.

"Nope. Well, yes, it is, but Reiner isn't here yet so by all means, please take it! How are you?" he asked, genuinely interested in Eren's week.

Eren nodded and humbly sat down across from him with his dinner tray, neglecting to answer his question. "So, where is Reiner? I thought you two had plans."

"We did! We were going to have a surprise picnic at the lake, but this pesky rainstorm got in the way of that. I'm not sure where he is right now... He told me to just wait for him to come back at dinner."

"But he's not here?"

"Nope."

"Hmm. I'm sure he... means to come back soon." Eren assured him, though in a dark place deep in his heart, he hoped Reiner would never come back.

"Oh, I know so." Armin laughed. "How are you though? I feel like I haven't really talked to you in ages!" he repeated happily.

"Yeah, I... feel so too... And I'm... okay."

"You've been getting hurt an awful lot this week... Is something on your mind?"

"No, no, just... feeling a little sick this week."

"Sick? What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

It wasn't much of a lie, since Eren definitely was taking a physical toll over this awful heartache. But he forced an excuse. "I guess it's just a cold, so I'm not in the right headspace. But don't worry about it, don't worry about it, let's talk about you! Are you... Well, obviously you're having a good time with Reiner, so are you... going steady?"

"Well... Um--"

"ARMIN!!! WHERE'S MY LITTLE MINNOW?!!!!" came the thundering voice of Reiner, suddenly bursting into the dining hall from outside in the storm.

"Tch..." Eren sneered at the hero of the 104th as he stole away his humble spotlight with Armin just as quickly as he'd found it.

"OVER HERE, REINER!!!" Armin cried merrily, turning away from Eren immediately.

Eren could swear he heard his own heart crack inside his chest. "..."

"Armin! I have a present for you! Hopefully this will make up for the picnic we didn't get to have today." the burly blond grinned.

"Eh?! Another present?! Oh, Reiner, you're too much! Just a quiet dinner together would've been more than enough."

"..." Eren's lip pouted in a frown. Armin was as humble as always, happy to accept any form of Reiner's company, there was no need for this excessive gift giving... Reiner didn't deserve Armin. Eren firmly believed this and growled it over and over in his mind.

"No, I insist! My boyfriend deserves the best, and I wanna give it to him. For you, mein Armin."

Armin beamed brightly and opened the package, thrilled to find a beautiful blue vest inside. Stitched with great skill and a perfect fit. "Oh, Reiner!!!"

"If you were wondering why I was particularly handsy with you the other day, this was why! To ensure I got the size right! I wanted to surprise you with it! Will you try it on?"

"Of course!" Armin exclaimed as he stood up to try on the vest, but not getting the chance to button it before Reiner's beefy hands began doing it for him. "Th-thank you..."

"No problem."

Once the form fitting vest was on, Armin turned around and held his arms out to reveal the look for his boyfriend and all to see.

Eren blushed at the sight... Armin was so handsome. How could he miss Armin's beauty before? No... how could he _ignore_ Armin's beauty before?...

Reiner blushed too. "Oh, you look so handsome... It's a perfect fit. Wouldn't you agree, everyone?!"

"YOU LOOK VERY GAY, ARMIN!!!" Ymir howled over the sound of Reiner's many fans nodding and shouting in agreement.

Christa silenced her as promptly as usual, "YMIR!!!"

"Oh!--" Suddenly, Armin was pulled into the burly man's arms and dipped backwards. But he could only smile because he knew those strong arms would never drop him.

Eren's eyes began welling up with tears... 'Damn this guy' he thought. 'Damn you, Reiner.'

"Would you mind modeling for me, Armin?" Reiner suggested as he pulled Armin back up.

Armin blushed wildly. "M-Modeling for you?!"

"Sure!" Reiner beamed. "Hup!"

In an instant, Armin was now standing on one of the dinner tables, on full display for all to see. He was feeling shy for a second, but when Reiner smiled at him from below, he stood up straight and held himself with confidence.

"Perfect! Bertholdt! My guitar!"

"Yep!" Bertholdt promptly replied as he handed his best friend his guitar to let the surprise proceed as planned.

The beefy hands hit the strings with proud precision to strum a fun and loud chord, exciting the murmuring crowd around him. "Give us a little dance while I play us a tune!"

Armin could only nod in acceptance, but though he continued blushing, the warmth from the crowd, and his boyfriend urged him to go on.  
Reiner soon played an upbeat and playful version of his song for Armin that he’d sung the day before. And the spirit that went through Armin’s body, the spirit of feeling loved, sent the blond boy into a jig across the table. Skipping shamelessly, spinning confidently, and stepping loudly to the beat of the song, and the clapping and stomping of the trainees eating their dinner, Armin was smiling more than he’d ever smiled before, laughing shamelessly, and dancing for Reiner with a sincere emotion that was rarely seen about him: pride.

Eren watched him with his ticking heart practically in his throat… He was beautiful. Armin in this spirit, this rare moment of pure happiness, was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. That laughter, that golden chime of a laugh, sounded the way only angels could, he thought. Heaven must have sent this man down to grace the earth with his presence. And those sparkling eyes were shining with the light of God himself… How did Eren _ever_ manage to ignore Armin’s beauty?…

As the song soon reached its peak, Reiner soon stopped playing his guitar, allowing only the rhythmic chanting, clapping and stomping of his peers to fill the air with continuing music, as he jumped on the table to join Armin. He twirled him, dipped him, raised him and spun him around. Armin never knew he could feel so high. And Eren’s tears began to fall… mourning the fact that he himself were not the one twirling Armin around to make him smile. That he was not the one holding him in his arms and spinning him. That he wasn’t the one dipping Armin and looking down at his beautiful face smiling up at him without a flinch of fear because he knew Eren would never drop him, not ever. That should have been Eren. That guy dancing up on “stage” with him, should have been Eren. Eren knew this in his heart, with the ruins of it aching, aching, and aching with regret. Armin should have been with him…

The song ended and Reiner took Armin's hand in his and raised it proudly above his head while the trainees in the room applauded. Eren could only wipe his tears and crouched in his seat, hoping Armin wouldn't see him like this.

"Oh, Reiner, I could kiss you!" Armin cried, finally feeling this grandiose level of romantic's confidence for the first time in his life.

And just as quickly as he'd wiped them, the tears in Eren's eyes poured forth again...

"And I could kiss you, Minnow!" Reiner bellowed with a grin. "But I'd prefer to share our first kiss on a more special occasion! You're a marvelous dancer also-- OH! There's an idea! A dance!" he shouted, pulling Armin's hand to his thumping chest in excitement for his sudden idea.

"A dance?!" Armin asked, still blushing with excitement himself at this thrilling man he was lucky enough to be dating.

"YES! HEY, EVERYONE!" Reiner shouted, turning around to face all of his peers in the mess hall. "TOMORROW NIGHT, I WILL BE THROWING A BALL! A CELEBRATION OF MY FIRST WEEK TOGETHER WITH MY ARMIN, WHERE WE WILL DANCE AND SHARE OUR FIRST KISS IN THE MOONLIGHT!!! I SUGGEST YOU ALL JOIN US AND HELP ARRANGE IT SO IT CAN BE A WONDERFUL CELEBRATION FOR ALL OF US HARDWORKING FIGHTERS TO ENJOY THE ESSENCE OF LOVE FOR AN EVENING!!!"

The crowd cheered in response, more than approving of any gathering hosted by the ever popular Reiner Braun, and toasted to it joyously. All but Eren...

Armin was so happy that he embraced Reiner and Eren watched as Reiner's big warm meaty arms swallowed Armin's body in return, hugging him tight. Eren's brain could no longer bear to process any more thoughts about this scene and so he quietly stood up from his seat and slipped outside in the rainy night air...

He walked slowly, maybe towards the barracks, but mostly trying to walk away from the mess hall where faint cheering could still be heard from the sensational trainees. He held his arms against his stomach and stared at the ground, letting the cold rain pour over his head, drip over his bangs, and into his eyes, mixing with his hot tears as they drizzled over his pale cheeks. He could swear his heart stopped beating altogether and saw himself as the cool, salty rain drops that dripped from the tip of his nose into the abysmal night air, hitting the ground and mixing with the rest of the heavy rain as it assimilated into a homogenous muddy puddle: absolutely pointless, alone, and lost. He was in love with Armin. The one person who made his heart beat wildly, and now the thing that broke his heart. He lost him. He slept on his chances, and he lost him. Like an idiot, he let him go. After claiming to be the bravest soldier and having more guts than anyone else in the unit, he lost Armin because he was too cowardly to take the chance. Feeling completely helpless, he finally turned his head upwards to face the gibbous moon, or what sliver of it could be seen behind the storm clouds, and just wished. Wished for an answer. What do you do when Armin Arlert is gone from your side? What do you do when you've lost him for good?

"What do I do?..."

"Eren?" a soft voice whispered from behind, prompting Eren to turn around. It was Mikasa.

Eren could only stare silently for a moment before turning his gaze back to the empty blackness of the ground.

"Aren't you getting cold? You should probably head inside the barracks and sleep."

Rather than answer her, Eren simply looked back up at the hidden moon, desperate for an answer to his own question. What do you do when Armin Arlert has slipped right through your fingers? He held up his hands, letting the rain drops puddle in his palms and pour out onto the ground, and turned his gaze down to watch them tremble and ache from being so empty. His whole body finally shivered from the chill of the air.

"Eren?"

Still, he was silent. _'Armin...'_ he thought. 'Armin...'

* * *

> _"Eren! Don't give up!"_

* * *

Eren's heart suddenly thumped again. The image of Armin telling him to keep going, the only person who ever told him to keep going when things were hard, the one person Eren ever _fought_ _for_ , suddenly appeared in his mind. And Eren's eyes watered again.

* * *

> _"Don't give in!"_

* * *

Of course this was the answer! It was always the answer. The image of Armin's glowing eyes and outstretched hand as he smiled and told him to keep going, reignited the fire inside him, and filled his heart with warmth again. It filled him with courage, welling up inside him even more so the longer he thought about it. Armin would never let him give up so easily, so why the hell was he doing it in Armin's _name_ just now? 

* * *

> _"Keep going! Go, Eren!!!"_

* * *

"H-hah... Hahahah! Hahahah!!!" he laughed, prompting Mikasa to raise an eyebrow. At last he smiled again, and turned to face her. "I've got to find something to wear to that dance!"

"E-Eh?"

With another grin, Eren then ran back to the barracks, leaving Mikasa alone to wonder what the hell just happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last...


End file.
